Handelsbanken has teamed with EDB Business Partners to enable Norwegian customers to block the use of their cards in certain geographic areas.
The regional blocking service, being made available this month, makes it possible for customers to use their Internet banking account to manage the geographic areas in which they want their Visa and MasterCard to be valid.
Customers select the regions of the world they want their card to be valid in by logging into the service and ticking the choices displayed on the menu. If a cardholder wants to unblock a region they are travelling to, they can do so online or by contacting the bank directly.
Wiljar Nesse, EVP, bank and finance, EDB, says: "The majority of card frauds take place when people are travelling abroad. However, this kind of fraudulent transaction does not necessarily take place in the country or region where the customer has used the card, and can instead take place from a quite different location. By limiting the geographic locations in which the card is valid, a card user can avoid the unpleasant experience of card fraud."
EDB says it expects more Norwegian banks to introduce the service in the near future.